By correspondent in Ilorin.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has identified illegal mining activities as a major threat against economic prosperity as well as crime against economic development in Kwara state,north central Nigeria.
Speaking at a one-day media training/workshop organized by the EFCC for print/electronics/online reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital on Thursday, the Acting Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Abdulkarim Chukkol, also said that cybercrime remained a major crime, particularly, among undergraduates and fresh graduates of tertiary institutions due to presence of a number of academic institutions in the state.
Represented by the zonal head of the anti-graft agency, Michaels Nzekwe, at the workshop on “Effective Reporting of Economic and Financial Crimes,” the commission said that activities of illegal solid mineral operators posed grave threat to the local and national economy, through non-payment of royalties, taxes and other dues.
“The commission has been active in tackling their criminalities and will continue to ensure that extant laws against illegal miners are enforced”, he said.
The EFCC boss, who said that Nigerians should not wait until they suffer any loss on economic and financial crimes before they move against corrupt practices, added that, “economic and financial crimes remain a threat to our individual and corporate progress.
“It is not only by being a victim of these crimes that we suffer losses. We also suffer limitations when our neighbours, colleagues, institutions and nation fall prey to them”.
He charged the nation’s journalists on patriotism, saying that, “as journalists, we owe our nation and the entire world an obligation of exposing every shadiness and criminal acts through our reporting.
“Journalism is the best gateway to whistle blowing and I charge the media to deploy more time, energy and commitment in exposing all fraudulent activities in our midst”.
In one of the presentations, titled, “New trends in cybercrime: how not to become a victim” by Alex Ocheme of the EFCC, the commission said that cybercrime had eaten over $8 trillion of victims’ hard earned finances in the world.
He, however, said that legal bottleneck is one of the factors hindering cross border corruption investigation in the anti-corruption war.
Ocheme said that not all African countries, for example, had passed the law on cybercrime, adding that since one cannot compel those countries to try corruption offenders with such law, means that, “the money stolen is gone”.
“Each nation is entitled to its laws. They are not necessarily there to work with you. Some countries are fast to assist you in the war against cybercrime while some are not. For instance, if the UAE is not ready to collaborate with you on a cybercrime investigation, it means the money lost is gone”, he said.
Edited by Dada Ahmed.
